A ramshackle historic building in downtown Winslow has been transformed by an artist and his wife into a vibrant and eclectic live-work gallery space — a hidden gem along Route 66.

The 22,000-square-foot building now known as Snowdrift Art Space offers the room he always dreamed of having as a young budding sculpturist.

As Black Business Month concludes, it's crucial to recognize that ongoing support from the local community is vital for entrepreneurs, to thrive year-round.

While Black-owned businesses are on the rise in Tucson and across the U.S., they still constitute only 3% of all businesses nationwide. Moreover, Black business owners typically begin with significantly less access to capital compared to their White counterparts—nearly a third less, as per industry standards.

We talked with two Tucson entrepreneurs from the Black business community. We explored the challenges of business ownership, ways the community can offer support, and the inspirations behind their entrepreneurial journeys.

Globe-Miami was bustling as more than 340 tribal and rural leaders flocked to the Copper Corridor for the Arizona Rural Policy Forum. Topics included affordable housing, farmer's markets, training skilled workers, attracting young people to small towns, finding grant funding and more.

An eager crowd of job seekers, students and companies converged recently for the Superior Career & Hiring Expo, organized by Local First Arizona and Career Connectors.

More than 3,400 people in remote Arizona communities will receive access to safe, clean drinking water for the first time through a partnership between Local First Arizona and a cutting-edge company that makes solar-powered, off-grid water systems.

Family is often a high priority in the Hispanic community, so it isn’t surprising that many recent graduates of Local First Arizona’s Spanish-language business accelerator are family members working together to elevate their entrepreneurial efforts.

Meet three members of the Fuerza Local Acelerador de Negocio’s Verde Valley class navigating business ownership with family at their side.

Small towns across Arizona are facing a similar challenge: Young people are moving to larger cities, causing local jobs to remain vacant and the economic health of communities to struggle.

This February, Local First Arizona partnered with the Arizona Office of Tourism to organize a planned itinerary to showcase Lake Havasu’s greatest tourist attractions. WeekendZona attendees only needed to show up, mingle with their fellow travelers and be ready for adventure.

Although it’s good news that more Arizonans are employed than ever before, the demand for workers has been challenging for small businesses to keep up with, particularly in rural areas.

Local First is working with rural employers to understand their staffing needs, opportunities and challenges to find solutions.

Put the ‘far’ in ‘fa’ and the ‘local’ in ‘la’ this holiday season with rural shopping. When you spend $100 at a locally owned business, $43 stays in the local economy vs. just $13 when you shop elsewhere.

Arizona tribal nations will soon begin investing more than $5 million from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to modernize their electrical grids and prevent outages.

Tribes and rural communities can receive free help from Local First Arizona to apply for millions of additional dollars available under the law.

Don’t wait for customers to come to you, go to them … and then they’ll come. This marketing strategy paid off for #RuralAZ businesses, and their home communities, that got in on the 2022 Arizona Fall Fest action. You see, by expanding their outreach beyond their own cities and towns, local businesses’ efforts also benefit the broader community.

In partnership with the Arizona Office of Tourism, LFA organized a weekend full of unique experiences to showcase Wickenburg. From Friday, October 21 through Sunday, October 23 2022, two hosts from LFA led 10 guests through a weekend of local food, drinks, and activities unique to the area.

The only nationally recognized day dedicated to promoting and celebrating recycling in the United States, America Recycles Day, held on and around November 15, educates and encourages individuals on:

Just one thing. One special thing worth seeing for yourself. Worth the extra miles. Worth the time. If a rural Arizona community has just one big thing that will attract visitors, it is an economic asset to use to the fullest extent. But if you know rural Arizona, you know a community always has far more than one special something.

Iconic rock band The Eagles gave Winslow an everlasting gift with one lyric that has attracted thousands of visitors to stand on the Route 66 corner made famous by a song. This gift of music continued developing the area’s identity along the lines of the arts, which have helped strengthen the community’s character and appeal far beyond any single attraction.

As the heart of Arizona wine country, the Cottonwood area boasts local wineries as well as tasting rooms for vineyards throughout the state like Pillsbury Wine Company. Weekendzona guests enjoyed two wine tastings and a tour of the Southwest Wine Center in Clarkdale, where they learned how students run the process from growing the grapes to bottling, naming and labeling the wines each season. For a unique dinner experience, guests were invited to Blazin’ M Ranch, a Western-themed frontier town where activities include bull riding, axe-throwing and a tractor pull before a live-music stage show over a barbecue dinner served chuck wagon style.

A higher percentage of Arizonans quit their jobs in March 2022 than almost anywhere in the nation. Whether this is due to employees making big personal decisions about life changes or the fact they have an abundance of available positions in our state to choose from, it’s clear that this is a job seeker’s market.

From November 11, 1926, to October 6, 1989, the Arizona segment of Route 80 - also known as the Ocean-to-Ocean Highway - shaped the west as a major transcontinental highway and was an important highway in the development of Arizona’s car culture. On September 21, 2018, Arizona U.S. Route 80 was designated a Historic Arizona Road.

Over the past two years, most of us have come to understand the importance and impact of having access to reliable internet services. For part of our state, that access is a privilege they have long dreamed of.